Thermodynamic characterization of heavy fermion systems and low dimensional quantum magnets near a quantum critical point

We report experimentally results on the low temperature properties of two classes of materials with a special emphasizes near the QCP induced by substitution and magnetic 1.field: (1) the HF systems YbRh2(Si0.95Ge0.05)2, Yb1-yLayRh2Si2 (y = 0.05, 0.1),and YbIr2Si2 with tetragonal structures and CeIn3-xSnx (x = 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.8) with cubic structure; (2) the quantum spin systems: Cs2CuCl4 and Cs2CoCl4. In all the HF compounds we have observed NFL behavior in zero magnetic field close to the QCP. The La substituted system does not show an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition down to the lowest accessible temperature (0.03 K) while in YbRh2(Si1-xGex)2 with x = 0 and x = 0.05 AFM transitions occur at TN =0.07 K and 0.02 K, respectively. For Yb0.9La0.1Rh2Si2 we observe below 0.07 K saturation of DeltaC/T indicating clearly a LFL state for this concentration. For YbIr2Si2, DeltaC/T saturates below 0.5 K. In contrast to the Yb based compounds in the vicinity of the QCP, CeIn3-xSnx shows no evidence of a divergence in Delta C/T, with B or with x. Furthermore, we used specic heat measurements in the mK temperature range and at high fields (up to 12 T) to probe the phase diagrams in the low dimensional quantum antiferromagnets Cs2CuCl4 and Cs2CoCl4. In applied magnetic field, we have presented experimental evidence that in Cs2CuCl4 the field dependence of the critical temperature Tc(B) ~ (Bc-B)^1-Phi close to the critical field Bc = 8.51 T is well described with Phi=1.5. This is in very good agreement with the exponent expected in the mean-field approximation and support the notion of a Bose-Einstein condensation of magnons in Cs2CuCl4

The necessity of operational risk management and quantification

Beginning with the fact that performant strategies of the financial institutions have programmes and management procedures for the banking risks, which have as main objective to minimize the probability of risk generation and the bank’s potential exposure, this paper wants to present the operational risk management and quantification methods. Also it presents the modality of minimum capital requirement for the operational risk. Therefore, the first part presents the conceptual approach of the operational risks through the point of view of the financial institutions exposed to this type of risk. The second part describes the management and evaluation methods for the operational risk. The final part of this article presents the approach assumed by a financial institution with a precise purpose: the quantification of the minimum capital requirements of the operational risk.Operational risk, operational risk profile, standard approach, gross income, administrative general expenses

Towards a Hedonic Pricing Method for the Bucharest Private Housing Market

This paper aims at exploring the drivers of dwellings’sale prices in Bucharest, Romania, over the period 2014-2018. Several housing structural attributes are covered, such as the number of rooms, useful and constructed surface, type of comfort, floor, the number of bathrooms, balconies and parking, the seniority from construction, as well as from renovation, structure type, height regime, and the duration until completion of the real estate transaction. By estimating a standard hedonic price model via OLS regression for a sample of 765 transactions, we notice that all the selected variables, except the floor level and seniority from construction, positively influence the property prices. However, in case of useful and constructed surface, nonlinear relationships with property prices were acknowledged. Robustness checks in form of quantile regressions reinforce the empirical findings.JEL Codes - C21; R3

Photocatalytic H2 Evolution Using Different Commercial TiO2 Catalysts Deposited with Finely Size-Tailored Au Nanoparticles: Critical Dependence on Au Particle Size

One weight percent of differently sized Au nanoparticles were deposited on two commercially available TiO2 photocatalysts: Aeroxide P25 and Kronos Vlp7000. The primary objective was to investigate the influence of the noble metal particle size and the deposition method on the photocatalytic activity. The developed synthesis method involves a simple approach for the preparation of finely-tuned Au particles through variation of the concentration of the stabilizing agent. Au was deposited on the TiO2 surface by photo- or chemical reduction, using trisodium citrate as a size-tailoring agent. The Au-TiO2 composites were synthetized by in situ reduction or by mixing the titania suspension with a previously prepared gold sol. The H2 production activities of the samples were studied in aqueous TiO2 suspensions irradiated with near-UV light in the absence of dissolved O2, with oxalic acid or methanol as the sacrificial agent. The H2 evolution rates proved to be strongly dependent on Au particle size: the highest H2 production rate was achieved when the Au particles measured ~6 nm

THE STUDY, DESIGN AND TESTING OF A LINEAR OSCILLATING GENERATOR WITH MOVING PERMANENT MAGNETS

This paper presents a study, design and testing of a Linear Oscillating Generator. There are presented the main steps of the magnetic and electric calculations for a permanent magnet linear alternator of fixed coil and moving magnets type. Finally it has been shown the comparative analysis between the linear oscillating generator with moving permanent magnets in no load operation and load operation

Ethical behavior in the agrarian economy

Business ethics is not just a philosophical topic, not practical, but an effective way to support the company's long-term financial interests. In order to appreciate that there is a direct and reciprocal relationship between a company's profitability and moral values, a company that promotes moral values and guides by ethical behavior will be wellperceived by the public and will make considerable profits. The research presented in this paper aims to determine ethical behavior in the economic activity of agronomic managers in Iasi County. The purpose of the research has been derived from two objectives: determining the ethical level of agronomic managers within agricultural holdings in Iasi County; emphasizing the importance of ethical values in understanding ethical attitudes and behaviors of people in the economy. The results show that, although some fundamental values of sustainable development do not indicate a significant correlation with the economic indicators. It is noticed that the values related to the field of activity of the agronomic managers are important to them, which is reflected also by the economic performances

Insights into the pathogenesis of nicotine addiction. Could a salivary biosensor be useful in Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)?

Nicotine has gained the attention of the medical community due to its insidious addictive mechanisms which lead to chronic consumption. The multitude of compounds derived from tobacco smoke have local and systemic negative impacts, resulting in a large number of smoking-related pathologies. The present review offers insights into nicotine addiction physiopathology, as well as social and medical implications, with emphasis on its correlation with Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). Therapeutic strategies and new approaches to nicotine assessment and cessation treatment are discussed, noting that such strategies could take into account the possibility of slow and gradual nicotine release from a device attached to a prosthetic piece, based on salivary nicotine-concentration feedback. This approach could offer real-time and home-based self-therapy monitoring by the physician and the patient for follow-up and improve long-term cessation treatment success- Graphical abstract

HIV medication to prevent fetal infection during pregnancy

When it has been declared a global epidemic, HIV infection became a challenge for medical world. Even if there is only one healed case cited in literature, treatment for HIV-infection have evolved during time leading to very good results in disease control and limitation of virus transmission. When it comes for viral transmission, an essential research topic became the prevention of mother to fetal transmission. In the long run, many discovered antiretroviral drugs proved to be efficient in controlling HIV infection during pregnancy and thereby in reducing the risk of viral transmission to the fetus. But along with use of the HIV-treatment in pregnancy, many questions have appeared. Are the drugs safe for the fetus, or are there any adverse pregnancy outcomes? Should the treatment be adjusted for the desired results in pregnancy, or should the initial treatment be changed when the pregnancy is diagnosed? Many retrospective or prospective observational studies and comparative studies have been conducted in order to answer those questions and to analyze the efficacy and the safety of mostly used antiretroviral drugs in pregnancy. This article reviews the existing studies, guidelines and recommendations regarding the combined antiretroviral HIV treatment during pregnancy for fetal infection prevention